Biffa plc, the UK's second largest waste management company, has called 2016/17 "a pleasing year of organic and acquisitive growth" in which it saw net revenues climb 8 per cent to £899m (€1.02bn, £1 = ca. €1.14). However the company, which went public on the LSE in late October, booked a statutory net loss of nearly £11m due refinancing and exceptional costs associated with the IPO, according to its annual and financial reports released on 14 June.
The company, which does not have any waste to energy plants of its own, has now announced an exclusive partnership with US waste to energy specialist Covanta to explore development to two large scale energy recovery facilities in Leicestershire and Cheshire. To date, Covanta's only completed European plant is the Poolbeg waste to energy facility in Dublin, which is currently in commissioning. After numerous permitting issues with the Irish plant and unsuccessful attempts to win contracts on the British market, the US company explained that while it wants to expand its activities outside the USA, it had no further plans to develop projects without a local partner. It is currently pursuing a permit together with the French environmental services company Veolia for a project in Bedfordshire.
